By: Aianna Xyril Monsod
The Colegio de San Juan de Letran pulled off a stunning upset against top-seeded De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde with a straight-sets victory on Sunday, June 1, at the Filoil Centre. Photo Courtesy: Thomas Villanueva.
The Colegio de San Juan de Letran shocked the top-ranked De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde with a stunning straight-sets win, 25-17, 25-23, 25-23, on Sunday, June 1, at the Filoil Centre, extending their NCAA 100 men's volleyball semifinals berth and forcing a do-or-die Game 2.
Driving the Knights' upset, John Derrick “Bembem” Bautista delivered 17 points, featuring 15 attacks and two blocks. Vince Himzon contributed 12 points, while John Wayne Araño was the architect of their offense, registering an impressive 17 sets out of the team's total of 20.
In a breathless final exchange, Blazer’s Rocky Roy Motol unleashed a furious barrage of three consecutive attacks, only to be met by a resolute Knights defense that refused to break. The tension reached its peak as Bautista took matters into his own hands, hammering down a definitive kill to close out the set 25-23, keeping their season campaign alive.
Letran dominated the opening set, capitalizing on numerous attack errors and ball outs from Benilde, with the former pulling away early and building a commanding 18-9 lead capped by a Himzon spike.
A tighter affair ensued in the second frame, marked by a back-and-forth battle where neither team could gain a significant lead, with deadlocks frequently broken by one-point advantages.
James Marasigan and John Austero stepped up for the Blazers, but Christer Ambrocio and Felix Bermido answered with consecutive points for the Knights. With the score knotted at 23-all, a crucial ball-out by the green squad gifted Letran a set point, which Bautista immediately converted with a decisive attack to seal the period, 25-23.
Benilde momentarily seized a 23-22 lead in the third set, pushing for a fourth frame. Their momentum was short-lived, however, as a service error leveled the score, and Letran turned the tide on a crucial rally to win the match point.
Austero led Benilde’s scoring with 11 points, while Motol, Marasigan, Mike Balbacal, and Raymark Betco all contributed eight points each.
In a post-game interview, team captain Araño shared his thoughts on their remarkable sweep of the top-seeded Benilde in the semifinals.
“Siguro ‘di in-expect na three sets pero alam namin na kayang kaya namin sila kasi po tinataas po namin talaga kay Lord yung game na ‘to, game na sususunod, sa lahat ng game namin. Talagang si Lord na po talaga ang nagdidikta kung mananalo kami o matatalo,” he said.
With the high-stakes rematch approaching, the captain added, "magtitiwala na lang talaga kami sa coaches, sa mga kakampi ko, sa sarili ko, and lalong-lalo na kay Lord.”
The Letran Knights will face the Benilde Blazers once more in a win-or-go-home game 2 of the NCAA Final Four on Friday. Triumph in this pivotal contest would propel Letran directly into the championship round, but a loss would unfortunately relegate them in the tournament's battle for third.